


The Ways of Kirin

by Aishuu



Category: Juuni Kokki | Twelve Kingdoms
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 18:45:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6206299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aishuu/pseuds/Aishuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirin are not human. Youko has a discussion with Taiki that reminds her of their differences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ways of Kirin

Youko found him in the garden, his head tilted back as he examined the trees in full bloom. She couldn't help but admire the pretty picture he presented, dressed in the finest of court robes with his waist-length black hair blowing gracefully in the wind. There was something _other_ about him, although he did not bear that alien nature the same way Keiki did. She couldn't think of a word to describe him except "kirin."

Taiki turned to see her standing there watching him, and nodded his head to acknowledge her presence. It was the greatest sign of deference someone like him could show her, the ruler of a foreign nation. Youko, who disdained the custom of prostration, nonetheless felt off-balance at the almost casual greeting. 

"Are you enjoying the gardens?" she asked, for lack of a better opening. She wasn't sure why she'd tracked him down out here. This was the first state visit between their nations since Gyousou had reclaimed his throne, and she didn't really know well enough to have an opinion of him or call him a friend. 

Maybe that was why. She knew she made the black kirin uncomfortable. She would watch him smile and relax around Keiki, or the soft looks of adoration he would offer Tai-ou, but as soon as he saw her, he would go stiff and formal. If they spent time together and learned to understand each other, maybe Taiki would come to see her as a friend as well.

"They're beautiful, Kei-ou," he said, his voice soft and musical. "Tai's climate isn't warm enough to nurture such a variety."

"I'm sure it has its own beauty," she responded. "I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

"A ruler can never interrupt someone in their own lands," Taiki replied.

She laughed, not bothering to politely cover her mouth. Many of her courtiers still found her uncouth, but they were learning to accept that their current queen would never act in the traditional mode. They blamed it on her having been raised in Wa, and a couple of the more condescending would occasionally give long-winded speeches to their friends about how she couldn't help being a barbarian. Suzu and Shoukei would report the most bombastic displays to Youko, giggling and doing melodramatic impressions.

Taiki didn't smile at her amusement, his face still as a frozen pond. None of the kirins she had met were alike in personality, but she would have thought he'd be more prone to showing emotion than Keiki. Her own kirin was the calmest being she'd ever met (which Enki claimed came from being dropped on his head one too many times while at Mount Hou), but even Keiki would allow his lips to curve slightly when she laughed. Taiki wasn't being cold, precisely, but he wasn't particularly welcoming to her attempts at conversation.

But Youko was stubborn. "Since I'm not interrupting, would you care to sit down and talk with me?" she asked. 

"Of course, Kei-ou," he murmured, stepping aside so she could lead.

She went to a stone bench which she'd had installed a couple years ago. It was perfect for viewing the trees, although at her palace, there was never a season when the blossoms weren't in full bloom. She had to consciously remind herself to appreciate the beauty that surrounded her, and not fall into the trap of taking it for granted. Back in Wa, hanami had been one of her favorite things, but she'd learned since coming to Kei that it was easier to appreciate things which were rare.

Taiki sat beside her, as far as he could get while still remaining on the bench. She decided not to let that bother her. "I love to sit out here and think," she told him. "It reminds me of hanami."

He frowned for a second before recognizing the reference. "You mean from over there?"

"Yes," she replied. "Do you ever think about it? Or other things from Japan?" The name of her former home felt strange on her tongue, but she realized suddenly that this was what she wanted to talk to Taiki about.

Her courtiers were right in guessing that much of the person she became was due to her upbringing, although not in ways they could understand. She remembered her life as Nakajima Youko, how she'd always tried to make everyone around her happy, and had never done anything for herself. Her experiences in that life had taught her it was always important to be true to herself, no matter how it disappointed the people around her.

"I try not to," he said. "That world contains few happy memories for me."

She had heard the stories, from both Risa and Keiki, about how poorly Taiki had fared in that land. Wa had not been a good place for a pure creature. She knows that it took years to purify his shirei, but maybe the time without his master and inadvertently being the cause of so much pain had driven him more than a little mad, too. 

"It would have been nice if we'd met there," she said. "I think our lives might have been easier there if we'd grown up as friends."

"I don't know if we would have been friends in Wa. Anyone close to me usually came to a bad end, so I made sure not to have any friends."

It was really hard to talk to him. "Maybe," she agreed. "In Japan, I never let anyone see who I really was. I don't think I had any real friends there."

They sat together, watching the blossoms fall onto the ground. Youko sometimes wondered what happened to the never ending petally rain, since the blossoms didn't build up on the ground. Maybe there were palace staff members assigned to clean it up in the evening after she'd gone to bed, because logically they should end up waist-deep in the petals since the seasons never seemed to move. As long as her reign was good for Kei, her palace would show no sign of decay. She understood that was part of life here, but she missed seeing the seasons. Falling into the lull of never-ending spring might be why some rulers forgot the passage of time that occurred in the rest of the world.

Taiki sighed a couple of minutes later, and she turned to look at his face. "I am sorry my conversation does not entertain you. I fear we have little to talk about. We could have been good friends if we were not who we are," he said. "But I do not know if a ruler can truly become friends with another ruler's kirin."

"Why?" Youko asked, blinking.

"The kirin is the spirit of their land, which is why they must be loyal to their ruler. So while kirin may become friends with each other, a ruler must not come to favor another's kirin. It would not lead to a pleasant ending. A ruler must always look first to their own country."

It was a pretty speech – but also insulting if Youko chose to take it that way. Taiki had always shied away from spending time with her, and now was telling her they would never be friends. 

"But countries can be friendly," she said. "I enjoying spending time with Enki."

"But do you ever spend time with him when En-ou isn't around?" Taiki asked reasonably. 

She opened her mouth to say yes, but her inherent honesty stopped her. She racks her brains, trying to remember when she had spent time alone with Enki, and came up with nothing. "No," she admitted. "But Enki is never far from Shouryuu's side."

"They spend the same amount of time together as I spend with Gyousou-sama," Taiki replied. "Most kirin can't stand to be apart from their rulers for long. When we do part, we prefer to spend time with other kirin, or with our shirei." He smiled at her, touching the back of her hand gently. "I am sorry I cannot offer you more, Kei-ou."

Youko nodded, wondering why Taiki's honesty was so brutal to her emotions. He wasn't intending to be cruel in admitting the truth, but it still hurt. She hadn't realized she'd been counting on him becoming a friend, someone who she could talk to about the things no one else understood. They had grown up in Japan at the same time, and unlike Suzu or Shouryou or Enki, he would understand what she was talking about when she mentioned things like television or movies. He was her peer, more than anyone else in this world.

He must have sensed her distress, because his face fell. "I don't want to make you unhappy."

"I have no right to ask anything of you," she replied. "I should be happy with the friends I have."

"It's not that I don't like you, it's..." Taiki trailed off helplessly. "We are bound by what we are."

And because there was nothing else to do, Youko smiled to show him she understood and was grateful for his honesty. His shoulders relaxed, relieved that she wasn't taking offense.

Taiki's heart would always think of his master first, and that left little room for anyone else. Now that she was looking, she could see echoes of Keiki's loyalty in Taiki's words. She found Keiki's ways to be disconcerting at times – especially when he'd expect her to understand what he wanted without explaining thoroughly - but perhaps Keiki was that way because he had no other choice. 

And for that lesson, she would name Taiki as a friend, even if he couldn't reciprocate.


End file.
